best of countdown

 #10) Peebles Island

 #9) Washington's Headquarters

 #8) Philipsburg Mannor

 #7) Boat Ride Up the Hudson River

 #6) Vanderbilt Mansion

 #5) Sewage Treatment Plant

 #4) Stormking Art Center

 #3) Kaaterskil Falls

 #2) Lake George

 #1) Freedom Towers

Adirondacks

Today was a long day filled with lots learning and a wonderful hike. The weather was perfect and it was a good way to end the semester. We traveled a couple hours north to see the Adirondack Museum, which was filled with tons of interesting exhibits to see I enjoyed the first room we went into and seeing all of the boats. I thought it was cool that there was a workshop in the museum room. I learned a lot of what people would do with boats that I didn’t know about before. I was unaware that boat races were popular or that mail was delivered by boat. Another thing that interested me was their diet, as it does everywhere we go. Loggers mostly ate salted pork, baked beans and bread. Mostly what I would consider hearty comfort food, or something I would eat for Sunday dinner. Outdoor activities were popular in the Adirondacks. Skiing, snowboarding and ice-skating were particularly common winter sports. My favorite part of the day was definitely the hike and I’m glad we ended our last adventure with something fun. I loved hiking this semester because you never knew exactly what was going to be at the end of your destination and it was always something beautiful. The view was extraordinary today and the steep hills we had to climb to get there was definitely worth it in the long run. The walk back down the hills were actually not as bad as I envisioned, and there were no serious injuries which is always a good thing.

NYC Environment Blog

             During our scavenger hunt through New York City we were destined to find both environment friendly items and some not so environment friendly items. The city is huge and filled with close to 8.4 million people therefore it is hard to keep clean and safe for the environment. As I was strolling through the city I did come across many things that were both good and bad for the environment. Seeing how NYC is a very populated area, there seemed to be a lot of garbage just lying in the street, as I’m sure you can imagine. Garbage sitting in the street is polluting the earth and harming the organisms that live there. A soda can that you on the street one-minute can end up in the water the next and get somehow break down and get stuck on a helpless mammal in the ocean. On a more positive note, there was almost a recycling bin at the corner of each block. The question is though, how many people are actually using the recycling bins in general, and how many people are actually acknowledging them as recycling bins and not trashcans?

            Another thing I was on the look out for was good and bad sources of water. I saw multiple fountains in NYC, which are fun, and beautiful to look at but other than that, what is their purpose? To me it just seems like a waste of water. I was highly disappointed after walking all day and not finding an area to fill up my water bottle or see any water fountains. Water fountains would be a great installment in the city but I highly doubt it will ever happen. The city is a place where they want you to spend your money and buy a new water bottle every single time. That is such a waste of money and a huge threat to many animals in the environment. Plastic bottles also take forever to recycle and decompose. A plastic bottle takes 450 years to dissolve and a tiny plastic bag takes at least 10 years to decompose.

            Public transportation is easily accessible in the city so it blows my mind that people drive their own vehicles. I hate driving in general, so it was very nice being able to get on the subway and go wherever I needed to go last week. Public transportation is a great option in the city for places outside of walking distance. The only downfall of public transportation is it might take longer than it would normally. On the other hand, traffic is crazy in the city and it would probably end up taking you the same amount of time as it would on a bus or train. Owning a car is expensive and the cost of gas is always up and down. Cars also generate pollution into the air that can make its way into the food chain and so on. Cars emit carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming as well. Another alternative for transportation is riding a bicycle. Biking was common in the city and it is a great way to get from point A to point B without walking or taking public transportation. It does no harm to the environment and will end up saving you a lot of money in the longrun.

Dutch influence

As we have been learning throughout the semester the Dutch have heavily impacted the growth and development of upstate New York. Despite the fact that their clothing was very different from modern style a number of our daily practices are inured by their early traditions. For instance the Dutch used to drink a heavy beer that had a low alcohol content but was high in nutritional value. Today, people drink alcoholic beer just as regularly.  In addition the Dutch attempted to entertain themselves through different versions of amusement. Their paintings were meant to tell a story and make the audience experience something just like a TV show would today. Playing games was also common during leisure time in the Dutch culture. They played games that were similar to board games we have today. Some of their games included backgammon, skittles that was what they considered bowling, and cards, which are still used for the most part in 2015. Although the Dutch were the earliest of settlers they lived pretty interesting lives compared to other cultures I have learned about during this program.

Peebles Island Take Two

            Today we went back to Peebles Island and did the complete opposite of our last visit. This time around we got to actually go inside their conservation rooms where they replicate and upholster original items that are put back into museums and historical houses. I enjoyed seeing all of the different rooms. They were all so different and everyone had a dedicated job or purpose. We got to meet Earl, a taxidermy bird that was kept at Olana. It amazed me how real he actually looked. I thought it was cool that they x-ray their products to try to get the most vivid image as possible while remodeling. I loved watching the frames be made they were gorgeous. I cant lie though, I was a tad grossed out at the thought of them using animal fat to piece things back together, but even more so that it’s in gelatin and marshmallows.

            After leaving that part of Peebles Island we headed over to where the boats are kept. We did community service on the Onrust, which was rather enjoyable. After community service, we got a tour of the boat. I learned that it was established in 1614, six years prior to the pilgrims coming to the U.S. It was built by Native Americans in Manhattan Island. Adrian Block was the captain of this ship and even had an island named after him. There was a lot of trade involved on the boat mainly for fur. I learned that all 17^th century techniques were used to build the Onrust. The entire boat was built out of white oak so it would stay afloat. Ribs held the boat together with wedges off of each rib. Each wedge was perpendicular to the grain because if it were parallel it would force grain out and split the wood. The fun fact of the day that I learned was that to the Dutch the term yacht meant a fast sailing boat as opposed to today where it means a luxurious fancy boat.

Schodack Island

            Today was bittersweet. It was the day I’ve been dreading the entire semester but it seemed to be rather pleasant after all. We went to Schodack Island State Park. There we got to spend the morning experimenting with watercolor and painting pictures. We were taught different painting techniques that helped us create our pictures the way we wanted them to look as opposed to just trying to replicate an image. My favorite technique was the vertical dragging technique that made the portrait almost look as if there was a reflection in it. I attempted this technique several times. I noticed the affect it had on my painting and with a little more practice hopefully it could have looked as good as the instructor’s did. I found painting very relaxing especially on such a beautiful day we had. After lunch was the dreadful part. We hiked down a dirt path to a dock above swamplands. The water was mucky and gross. Due to my fear of bodies of water other than my pool in my backyard had me traumatized.  The water was deeper than it looked and went all the way up to your waist or neck. Although I didn’t actually go into the water, I did my part by standing on the edge of the water in what seemed like quick sand to help reel the net into shore with what was supposed to have fish in there. Unfortunately there was no fish for us to look at but I couldn’t help but question in the back of my mind why would a fish or any animal want to live in such awful conditions? Also, why would we choose this area to go neck deep into the Hudson River as opposed to an area that was cleaner?